The Judgement of Paris






THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS was a contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of Olympos--Aphrodite, Hera and Athena--for the prize of a golden apple addressed to "the fairest"

The story begins at the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis to which all of the gods were invited, all except Eris, the goddess of discord. When she appeared at the festivities, she was turned away, and in her anger cast a golden apple amongst the assembled goddesses addressed "To the Fairest." Three goddesses laid claim to the apple--Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Zeus was asked to mediate and he commanded Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris of Troy to decide the issue. The three goddesses appearing before the shepherd prince, each offering him gifts for favour. Hera,- Zeus’s wife- promised him  if he ruled in her favour, that he would rule all the lands and dominate the rest in wealth; Athena –the goddess of wisdom-  said to him , if she left the winner, that he would be the strongest among mortals and know every skill; Aphrodite – the goddess of Love , however, promised that he would marry Helen, daughter of Tyndareus, the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris preferred this last gift to the previous ones and ruled Afrodite was the prettiest. Because of this, Juno [Hera] and Minerva [Athena] were angry with the Trojans.  Paris Alexander, at the prompting of Venus [Aphrodite], took Helen from his host Menelaus from Lacedaemon to Troy, and married her.

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